Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) generally refers to a redundancy solution, where pairs of network devices, such as network controllers, act in an active mode or a standby mode. VRRP eliminates a single point of failure by providing an election mechanism, among the network controllers, to elect a VRRP master network controller. The master network controller is configured with a virtual Internet Protocol (IP) address for the VRRP instance. When the master network controller becomes unavailable, a backup or standby network controller steps in acting as the master network controller, and takes ownership of the virtual IP address. Nevertheless, when the VRRP pre-emption is disabled, a network controller may inadvertently pre-empt a pre-existing VRRP master network controller.